tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367161100956691682.post1997206652303392664..comments2018-03-04T17:24:21.827-08:00Comments on Arash's World: American Use of Atomic Bombs to Show PowerArash Farzanehhttps://plus.google.com/104568648129540765962noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367161100956691682.post-87907416603594431742016-08-17T15:34:48.693-07:002016-08-17T15:34:48.693-07:00No worries, dear Vincent! I enjoy your questions, ...No worries, dear Vincent! I enjoy your questions, comments and occasional challenges and do not think of them as irritating. Please do not be discouraged and keep them coming!<br /><br />In fact, I am thrilled to see your comments. There will be an upcoming post in about a week or so on early American history and I can&#39;t wait to hear your thoughts on the matter! Arash Farzanehhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12000344680925876563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367161100956691682.post-76702966603471237222016-08-17T06:54:34.680-07:002016-08-17T06:54:34.680-07:00Thanks for so graciously responding to the points ...Thanks for so graciously responding to the points I made. I really regret the challenges I put forward, which must have been a considerable irritation to you, putting you under pressure to defend the position you&#39;d already set out clearly. <br /><br />I don&#39;t like it when that&#39;s done to me. Bad behaviour on my part, it won&#39;t happen again! Vincenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18297306807695767580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367161100956691682.post-26246513264086129902016-08-07T11:17:56.554-07:002016-08-07T11:17:56.554-07:00Hey Vincent,
As an academic I always wince when a...Hey Vincent,<br /><br />As an academic I always wince when anybody tries to serve me &quot;facts&quot; by providing a Wikipedia link. <br /><br />Notwithstanding, leaflets in such a war are completely useless. What did they expect, people to leave cities whole-scale or did they think those warnings would suddenly stop an egomaniac emperor? <br /><br />And finally, since little was known about atomic bombs at the time and they were untested, those warnings were equally useless as people expected the regular type of bombings and not one with repercussions that would haunt future generations as well. <br /><br />Also, giving 16 hours to surrender was not sufficient time. Remember that most likely phone lines had been destroyed. This point was brought to light during a lecture I attended and I do believe it to be true. I insist that the Americans should have waited and I do not understand the sudden haste of dropping yet another atomic bomb in such a short time span. <br /><br />Sure, the Americans were fighting the expansion of Japan but that was again due to their own desire of expansion. And yes, I am also certain that there were very good and decent efforts to rebuild Japan thereafter, no doubt.<br /><br />I am also very sorry to hear of experiences that have haunted you and your family. But my point is that such vicious large-scale attacks on civilians, regardless of nationality or ideology, are cruel and inhumane. <br /><br />None of this was justified in my view as I do not believe in the ends justifying the means, especially when the means include deliberate mass slaughtering of civilians. Nor do I think that North America, both US and Canada, were right to forcefully and illegally deport people of Japanese ancestry to concentration camps.<br /><br />But I would like to reiterate that I do not in any way condone the actions of a power-hungry Japanese emperor nor do I mean to arouse anti-American sentiment here (though a formal apology of the use of those atomic bombs is still outstanding). <br /><br />All I would say is that Americans should think (at least) twice about who they choose as president and I will, somewhat uncharacteristically, support the words of Ted Cruz, that they ought to vote their conscience.<br />Arash Farzanehhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12000344680925876563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367161100956691682.post-34402933953161110282016-08-06T13:56:59.826-07:002016-08-06T13:56:59.826-07:00If you read any factual account, such as this one ...If you read any factual account, such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki" rel="nofollow">this one in Wikipedia</a> you&#39;ll see that the Japanese Government made no response to the Hiroshima bombing, which had been preceded by massive leaflet-dropping warning the people and also fire-bombing of other cities. The Japanese Government actively suppressed any anti-war feeling among the people. Although the atomic bomb was pursued as less costly to American forces, America was fighting against Japan not to further its power interests but to put an end to the cruel Japanese incursions throughout South-East Asia, which cost so many civilian lives and resulted in Allied soldiers being imprisoned in inhuman conditions, dying from starvation, disease and overwork with no prospect of being stopped by any rational negotiations.<br /><br />My own involvement in this was to have been born in Australia after my mother fled from Singapore. My father joined the Australian Army as soon as he was 18 and though he survived the privations came back &quot;half-alive&quot; from Indonesia months after Hiroshima &amp; Nagasaki. Millions of people in Malaya, Burma, Indonesia etc were grateful that the atomic bombs finally brought hostilities to an end.<br /><br />American experts after the war then helped the reconstruction of Japan after the war. The one I know about was W Edwards Deming, who in 1950 and 1951 taught quality management methods &amp; thus contributed to the creation of Japanese companies known for their innovation and quality throughout the world.<br /><br />You make a point near the end of your piece, &quot;Who wins a war that both sides will lose?&quot; This was precisely the justification for the nuclear stand-off between Americans and Soviets.<br /><br />It breaks down when there are crazy states and insurgents, who don&#39;t have ordinary standards of winning and losing. Let&#39;s not forget that the Japanese in WWII were suicidally fanatical (backed up like IS by ideologies - the state religion Shinto and the Samurai warrior ethic). The bombings ended that craziness and made them renounce belligerence for generations. I wonder what else could have achieved that, in the circumstances?Vincenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18297306807695767580noreply@blogger.com